In the present study, we evaluated the differentiation potential of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) toward Schwann cells, together with their functional capacity with regard to myelination and support of neurite outgrowth in vitro. Successful Schwann cell differentiation was confirmed at the morphological and ultrastructural level by transmission… (More)

We report, for the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) in A6 cells, the modulation by cell pH (pHc) of the transepithelial Na+ current (INa), the current through the individual Na+ channel (i), the open Na+ channel density (No), and the kinetic parameters of the relationship between I(Na) and the apical Na+ concentration. The i and N) were evaluated from the… (More)

OLN-93 cells, a cell line established from spontaneously transformed rat brain glial cultures, are used as a model for oligodendrocytes. These cells are known to undergo morphological changes upon serum deprivation. The objective of the present study is to investigate a possible correlation between these morphological changes and (1) the loss or gain of… (More)

Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) has become a widely used tool to examine gene expression levels. Reliable quantification, however, depends on a proper normalization strategy. Normalization with multiple reference genes is becoming the standard, although the most suitable reference genes depend on the applied treatment as well as the… (More)

Oligodendrocytes, the myelin-forming cells of the central nervous system, are the target of pathogenic immune responses in multiple sclerosis. Primary cultures of human oligodendrocytes have been used to unravel the cellular and molecular mechanisms of immune-mediated injury of oligodendrocytes. However, these studies are hampered by the limited… (More)

Microglia are the immune cells of the central nervous system. They are suspected to play important roles in adult synaptogenesis and in the development of the neuronal network. Microglial cells originate from progenitors in the yolk sac. Although it was suggested that they invade the cortex at early developmental stages in the embryo, their invasion pattern… (More)

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Myelin and oligodendrocytes are considered the major targets of injury caused by a cell-mediated immune response. There is circumstantial evidence that proinflammatory cytokines like tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) could have… (More)

Numerous microorganisms have been isolated from trinitrotoluene (TNT)-contaminated soils, however TNT tends to persist, indicating that the microbial biomass or activity is insufficient for degradation. Deep-rooting trees at military sites have been found to take-up contaminants from groundwater, and the extensive root and endosphere provide ideal niches… (More)

The plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells exhibits lateral inhomogeneities, mainly containing cholesterol and sphingomyelin, which provide liquid-ordered microdomains (lipid "rafts") that segregate membrane components. Rafts are thought to modulate the biological functions of molecules that become associated with them, and as such, they appear to be involved… (More)

In this study, the effect of glycine receptor (GlyR) α3 alternative RNA splicing on the distribution of receptors in the membrane of human embryonic kidney 293 cells is investigated using optical super-resolution microscopy. Direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy is used to image both α3K and α3L splice variants individually and together using… (More)